Tube flaring tool



April 24, 1956 v P. w. BAIRD 2,742,948

TUBE FLARING Tool.

Filed Jan. 25, 1952 l VI lil". I E /9/ /5' 2f" y f. i @-4 y] Mwme yUnited Statesl Patent This invention relates to a tube. Haring tool and more particularly to a tool for simultaneously Haring tubing on twoopposed nuts to form ai flare nut union, which tool is adapted to operate with ar plurality of sizes of nuts and tubing to form ilare nut unions of various sizes'.

, yItis an object of this invention to provide aaring tool of the aforementioned type which is. adapted for use in Haring various sized pieces of tubingl onto various sized nuts,.so as to provide a complete tool by means of which a mechanic can form are nut unions of. various conventional sizes used, for example,y in refrigerationA installation and repair work. y v

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a tool of they aforementioned typey which is relatively compact and simple to use and relatively inexpensive tofmanufacture. Y It is-astill further object of this invention to provide a tool of the aforementioned type which will readily produce a flare nut union wherein the two. nuts are disposed in a closely spaced, back-to-back relationship, so that a conventional clamp type flaringy tool `can not be used.

g 2,742,948 Patented Aprf. 24, 1956 ICC j f 2 trated as being of siz'es to dare 1A, 3A, 1/2 and /s tubing. The lower end of a nut inserted over a'are pin rests either onfthe topsurface of the base lplate 5, if are pin 19isl used, or on the top surfacey of a flange or shoulder 31 formed on the are pin elements 21, 23 and 25, adjacent the top surfacel of the base plate 5, when the latter are pins are used'. The. flange or shoulderv portions 31 are provided on pins'21, 23 and 25,*as distinguished from merely using'the top surface of the base plate as an abutment or'support for the nuts, for reasons which will hereinafter appear. Each of the are pins has its upper end `reduced to provide a projection 33 thereon, over which projection one endv of apiece of tubing is adapted4 to-be inserted. The lower end of each projection 33 is joined with the upper end of its enlarged portionl 27, by an an.- nular arcuate shoulder 36, which is adapted to engage the tubing and are the same into engagement with a are seat or'shoulder 37 in the nut 29 when the tubing is forced against the shoulder, as will be hereinafter brought out.

A-plurality of flarev pins 19', 21', 23 and 25 are connected with the upperv plate member 15 in vertical align mentwith kthe lower are pins 19, 21,23 and 25 respectively. Each ofthe upper flare pins is constructed in substantially the same manner as the lower flare pins, so that they are provided with enlarged portions 27', adapted to be; slidably received in the upper end of a correspondingly sizedxsecondnut 41, which is inserted over the upper end of the tubing 35V and abuts the upper end of the lower nut 29. The nuts 41 and 29 are disposedin an opposed backto-back relationship andthe upper end of the tubing 35 is adaptedv to be flared into engagement with a llare seat or It is a still further object of. this invention to providea tool ofthe aforementioned type which will areboth ends of apiece of. tubing into engagement with the opposed nuts', simultaneously.

1 These and other objects of this inventionl will become apparent. from. the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the. accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the. tool of. this invention, with parts broken away in section for purposes of clarity;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the Structure illustrated in Figure l, taken along the line 2-2 thereof and illustrating the position of they parts after the Hareunion has' been completed;

l Fig.3 is a'view similar to-Fig. 2, illustrating the position oftheparts just prior tothe flaring operation; and.

Pig.. 4 isa-view similar to Figure 1:, showing.v a further embodiment of the invention.

Referring, now tothe drawing. it will be seen that; the toolLoiithis invention includes a baseplate 5 havinga pair of upwardly extending dowel pins 1 and 9, rigidly connected therewith in any suitable manner.. The upper ends of the dowel pins are reduced in diameter at 11 to provide shoulders 13 which are adapted to support an upper plate member 15 having apertures 17 therein in which the reduced dowel pin upper ends 11 are slidably and removably receivable. The dowel pins 7 and 9 act, therefore, as means for releasably retaining and maintaining the upper plate 15 in a predetermined alignment and arrangement relative to the base plate 5. l

A plurality of ilare pins or post elements 19, 21, 23 and 25 are rigidly connected with the base plate 5 in anyr'suit# able manner and project upwardly therefrom. Each of the tlare pins 19 includes an enlarged portion 27, over which -a nut 29 is insertable. The tlare pins 19, 21, 23, and 25 are of dilerent diameters to accommodate nuts and tubing of correspondingly diierent sizes and are illusshoulder 43 in the nut 41.. The upper tlare pins are provided wiftha projection 33 on the lower end thereof, which corresponds to the projection 33 on the lower'flare pin and with a flare surface or shoulder 36' which corresponds to theshoulder 35 previously described. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. l, the upper flare pins extend slidably through apertures 45 in the upper plate member 15, so as to be movable relative` thereto. Annular shoulders or snapfrings 47 are provided. on the upper are pins adjacent the upper end thereof, to prevent the pins from dropping downwardly` through the apertures 45 when the upper plate. member is disassembled and removedy from the dowel pinsi'l and-9 and the base plate S.. The upper ilare pins. 2:1' and 23' because their enlarged portions 2.7 are not larger than the apertures 45, are providedv with shoulders 47, which prevent them from being pulled upwardlyf through the plateapertures 45T and out of engagement therewith.

When it is desired to form a flare nut union, wherein the nutsj2`9' and 41 are` disposed in a back-to-back relationship with only'asmall distance between the opposed nut faces so: that an ordinary clamp type are tool can. not. be used, the tool of this invention isi especially adapted for use. in order to forni a flarel nutirnion the upper plate 15 is removedfrom its.- dowel pins 7 and. 9 and out of. interfering relationship with the; lower base plate 5 audits fla-repins; A nut 29 is then inserted over a lower flare pin of corresponding size. A piece of tubing 35 is then dropped over the projection 33 of the particular flare pin used, so that the lower end of the piece of tubing engages the shoulder or flare surface 36 adjacent the bottom of the projection and the tubing is disposed within the upper end of the nut 29. The upper nut 41 is then inserted over the upper end of the tubing and will abut the upper end of the lower nut 29. The upper plate 15 is then positioned over the upper ends of the dowel pins 7 and 9, so as to bring the upper ilare pins into alignment with the lower are pins. The top of the upper flare pin being used is then struck with an impact imparting device such as a hammer, or the upper flare pin is forced toward the lower flare pin, such as by a vise or. the like, whereupon the downward movement of the upper flare pin will flare the upper end of the tubing into engagement with the upper nut 41 and will force the tubing downwardly against the lower flare pin shoulder 36 to cause the lower end of thc piece of tubing to are into engagement with the lower nut 29. The are pins are so spaced relative to each other thatthe upper are pin is forced downwardly until it engages the upper end of its corresponding lower flare pin, at which time the flare will be completed on the opposite ends of the tubing, but the nuts will not be jammed or forced into engagement with each other so that they cannot turn easily on the tubing. In other words, as the nuts of any particular diameter or size are of a predetermined length, and as the relationship between the upper and lower flare pins is predetermined, the nuts will not become jammed on the tubing so as to be nonrotativeafter the aring operation. The nut supporting flanges 31, on lower flare pins 2.1, 23

and 25 act to properly space the nuts relative to the tlare pins so that the flares will be properly formed without jamming the nuts. The use of such a flange on the largest are pin 19, was not found to be necessary because of the size of the nut. lt will, of course, also be appreciated that if desired all of the flare pins could be used at one time to form different sized flare nut unions, but in any event the tool simultaneously ares the tubing on the two opposite nuts to form the are nut union in a simpleand eicient manner.

The tool illustrated in Fig. 4 is identical with the tool with-'the l`adjacent enlarged portion of said lirst post to provide a tube flaring shoulder, an upper plate member, a second post connected with said upper plate member, adapted to be slidably receivable in a second nut inserted over said tubing and resting on said iirst nut, means releasably interconnecting said base and plate members for maintaining said rst and second posts in an opposed aligned relationship to eachfother, said second post hav ing a reduced projection on the lower end thereof adapted to t into the opposite end of the tubing and joining its adjacent enlarged post portion to provide a tube llaring shoulder so that when said second post is moved toward said rst post said post shoulders will simultaneously are the opposite ends of said tube into engagement with said nuts to provide a flare nut union, and means for limiting the travel of said second post whereby said nuts are free to rotate relative to said tubing when the opposite ends of said tubing are flared into engagement with said nuts.

2. A portable tool for simultaneously flaring tubing on two opposed, closely spaced nuts to form a flare nut union, including, in combination, a ist upstanding element over which a nut is slidably receivable, said element including a reduced projection on the upper end thereof, over which one end of a piece of tubing is insertable, an arcuate shoulder joining the lower end of said projection and the adjacent enlarged portion of said element, adapted to flare said one end of said tubing when said tubing is forced thereagainst, a second element disposed above said rst element, adapted to be slidably receivable in a second nut inserted over the opposite end of said piece of tubing and resting on the upper end of said first nut, a reduced projection on the lower end of said second element, receivable in the upper end of said tubing, an arcuate shoulder between I the upper end of said second element reduced projection used to form the flare nut union, or the device is placed l in a vise and the upper plate moved or forced toward the lower base plate. Again the flare pins are dimensioned and arranged relative to each other to properly form the are nut union without damaging the nuts on the tubing.

It will thus be seen that with either tool of this invention llare nut unions can be easily formed to provide a are nut union wherein the nuts are disposed in an almost abutting back-to-back relationship, and it will furthermore be appreciated that this tool provides a mechanic or user with a plurality of are pins which will accommodate and form are unions of conventional sizes used in, for example, refrigeration work wherein such flare nut unions are often employed. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the tool of this invention is simple to use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and very compact in nature.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable tool for simultaneously aring tubing on two opposed, closely spaced nuts to form a ared nut union, including, in combination, a base, a rst post connected with said base and projecting upwardly therefrom over which a nut is slidably receivable, a reduced projection on the upper end of said rst post adapted to hold one end of a piece of tubing inserted thereover and joining and its adjacent enlarged element portion adapted to flare the opposite end of said tubing when the tubing is forced thereagainst, said elements being the soie support for said tubing, means releasably retaining said elements in an aligned relationship relative to each other, whereby when one of said elements is moved toward the other the opposite ends of the piece of tubing will be simultaneously ared to provide a` flare union with said nuts, the length of each of said reduced projections being proportioned to the length of the adjacent nut whereby the inner ends of said projections are disposed in abutting relationship and said nuts are free to rotate when the opposite ends of said tubing are flared into lengagement with said nuts.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS l 210,088 Brightman Nov. 19, 1878 1,297,141 Gibbons Mar. l1, 1919 1,664,527 Poole Apr. 3, 1928 1,703,527 Henshall Feb. 26, 1929 '1,835,179 Parker Dec. 8, 1931 2,249,984 Seever July 22, 1941 '2,357,748 i Lyon Sept. 5, 1944 2,433,546 Cornelius Dec. 30, 1947 2,467,125 Glynn Apr. 12, 1949 2,569,523 Hahn Oct. 2, 1951 

